NASHVILLE, TN - The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) awarded Meredith Linsky, Director of the South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project (ProBAR), with the 2012 Arthur C. Helton Human Rights Award for her outstanding service in advancing the cause of human rights. She will receive the award today during AILA's Annual Conference in Nashville, TN.

Ms. Linsky's commitment to preserving the human rights of those she represents in immigration courts extends beyond the four walls of the court and reaches to the human soul in ways that very few lawyers ever come to know.

Ms. Linsky has directed ProBAR since 2000. Tireless in her advocacy efforts on behalf of her clients, she fights battle after battle in the Rio Grande Valley - a place that could be considered ground zero for immigrants' rights issues in the United States. She increases the impact of her work by training pro bono lawyers, law students, paralegals and volunteers; she has trained a generation of immigration lawyers who now practice throughout the country. Those who have benefited from her tutelage bring a level of compassion, tenacity and commitment to this work that otherwise would not exist.

Ms. Linsky has directed ProBAR since 2000. Tireless in her advocacy efforts on behalf of her clients, she fights battle after battle in the Rio Grande Valley - a place that could be considered ground zero for immigrants' rights issues in the United States. She increases the impact of her work by training pro bono lawyers, law students, paralegals and volunteers; she has trained a generation of immigration lawyers who now practice throughout the country. Those who have benefited from her tutelage bring a level of compassion, tenacity and commitment to this work that otherwise would not exist.

After twelve years, Ms. Linsky shows no signs of slowing down and continues to bring the same passion, care, and consideration for her clients, her staff, and the larger immigrant community. In 2011, she took a four month "leave of absence" from ProBAR to volunteer in Kampala, Uganda, with the Association of Women Lawyers of Uganda. She returned to ProBAR in January 2012, inspired by the women lawyers and advocates she met while living abroad.

Prior to becoming the Director of ProBAR Ms. Linsky worked as the "Legal Rights Presentation" Attorney. She left ProBAR in mid-1999 to work at the Office of the Federal Defender for the Eastern District of California until August 2000 before returning to ProBAR as the Director.

Ms. Linsky graduated from the University of California, Davis, School of Law, in May 1998.

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The American Immigration Lawyers Association is the national association of immigration lawyers established to promote justice, advocate for fair and reasonable immigration law and policy, advance the quality of immigration and nationality law and practice, and enhance the professional development of its members.